I wrote last year about the way Google’s Android mobile operating system was serving as a more open alternative to Apple’s iOS, but not so open that it didn’t leave opportunity for an even more open alternative.

Given that we continue to see software patent-based attacks on Android, as well as swirling FUD around coverage of the attacks and never ending suits and settlements and courtroom developments, it is clear it will be a long time before any of this legal business is ever close to settled, unless ended by settlements first, which is likely.

However, I’m more interested in the technology in the meantime. I also think it’s interesting to see, if not a ‘more open’ …

When I spoke at Percona Live (video here) on running an E-commerce database in Amazon EC2, I briefly talked about using RAID 10 for additional performance and fault tolerance when using EBS volumes. At first, this seems counter intuitive. Amazon has a robust infrastructure, EBS volumes run on RAIDed hardware, and are mirrored in multiple availability zones. So, why bother? Today, I was reminded of just how important it is. Please note that all my performance statistics are based on direct experience running a MySQL database on a m2.4xlarge instance and not on some random bonnie or orion benchmark. I have those graphs floating around on my hard drive in glorious 3D and, while interesting, they do not necessarily reflect real-life performance.

Why? …

MySQL Connector/Net 6.4.3, a new version of the all-managed .NET driver for MySQL has been released.  This is a GA release and is intended for full production deployment.

Version 6.4.3 is intended for use with versions of MySQL from 5.0 – 5.5

It is now available in source and binary form from [http://dev.mysql.com/downloads/connector/net/6.4.html] and mirror
sites (note that not all mirror sites may be up to date at this point of time
- if you can’t find this version on some mirror, please try again later or choose another download site.)
The release is also available for download on the My Oracle Support (MOS) and will be available from Oracle eDelivery.

** New features found in 6.4 include (please see release notes for more information) **

* Windows Authentication*
This release includes our …

MySQL Connector/Net 6.2.5, a update to our all-managed .NET driver for MySQL has been released.  This is an update to our legacy 6.2 version line. All new development should be using a more recent product such as 6.4.3.

Version 6.2.5 is intended for use with versions of MySQL from 4.1 – 5.1.  It is not suitable for use with MySQL 5.5 or later.

It is now available in source and binary form from [http://dev.mysql.com/downloads/connector/net/] and mirror
sites (note that not all mirror sites may be up to date at this point of time
- if you can’t find this version on some mirror, please try again later or choose another download site.)

This update includes more than 45 fixes from 6.2.4.  Please review the change log that is included with the product to determine the exact nature of the changes.

Enjoy and …

MySQL Connector/Net 6.1.6, a update to our all-managed .NET driver for MySQL has been released.  This is an update to our legacy 6.1 version line. All new development should be using a more recent product such as 6.3.7. 

Version 6.1.6 is intended for use with versions of MySQL from 4.1 – 5.1.  It is not suitable for use with MySQL 5.5 or later.

It is now available in source and binary form from here and mirror sites (note that not all mirror sites may be up to date at this point of time
- if you can’t find this version on some mirror, please try again later or choose another download site.)

This update includes more than 35 fixes from 6.1.5.  Please review the change log that is included with the product to determine the exact nature of the changes.

Enjoy and thanks for the support!

…

MySQL Connector/Net 6.4.2, a new version of the all-managed .NET driver for MySQL has been released.  This is a Release Candidate and is intended for testing and exposure to new features.  We strongly urge you to not use this release in a production environment.

Version 6.4.2 is intended for use with versions of MySQL from 5.0 – 5.5

It is now available in source and binary form from here and mirror sites (note that not all mirror sites may be up to date at this point of time
- if you can’t find this version on some mirror, please try again later or choose another download site.) 

New features found in 6.4 include (please see release notes for more information)

• Windows Authentication — This release includes our new support for Windows authentication when connecting to MySQL Server …

I’ve done some benchmark testing of 2 Python modules for MySQL data retrieval: MySQLdb and pyhs. MySQLdb uses MySQL’s client libraries, whereas pyhs uses HandlerSocket that bypasses MySQL’s client layer and interfaces Innodb storage engine’s files directly. In my testing, HandlerSocket results in 82% improvement over mysql client libraries based on number of rows retrieved. The tests were conducted under different conditions: right after a start when cache is cold, a warmed up cache after running SELECT * FROM customer, and alternating the execution order of those 2 Python files. The results are fairly consistent in that they all fall in the same range. …

MySQL Connector/Net 6.3.7, a new version of the all-managed .NET driver for MySQL has been released. This is a maintenance release to our existing 6.3 products and is suitable for use in production environments against MySQL server 5.0-5.5.

It is now available in source and binary form from [http://dev.mysql.com/downloads/connector/net/6.3.html] and mirror sites (note that not all mirror sites may be up to date at this point of time

- if you can’t find this version on some mirror, please try again later or choose another download site.)

Please review the change log for details on what is fixed or changed in this release.

…

I had trouble getting Perl DBI and DBD-mysql on Windows in the past. In addition, on Windows 64-bit, you sometimes see recommendations of using 32-bit Perl.

Today I got to test the latest 64-bit ActiveState Perl distro for Windows, version 5.12.3.1204. I tested it on Windows 2008 R2 64-bit. I am happy to report that it works. I am not categorically recommend FOR the installation of 64-bit Perl on Windows, though.

Here are the steps:
1. Get the ActiveState Perl 64-bit package for Windows and install it, following all the default options;
2. On command prompt, do:
cd c:\perl64\bin
ppm install DBI
ppm install DBD-mysql

I then tested against both Oracle’s MySQL 5.5 Community Server and MariaDb’s 5.2.7 on Windows with MaatKit’s mk-table-checksum to confirm. And it worked …

MySQL Connector/Net 6.4.1, a new version of the all-managed .NET driver for MySQL has been released.  This release is of Beta quality and is intended for testing and exposure to new features.  We strongly urge you to not use this release in a production environment.

Version 6.4.1 is intended for use with versions of MySQL from 5.0 – 5.5

It is now available in source and binary form from [http://dev.mysql.com/downloads/connector/net/6.4.html] and mirror
sites (note that not all mirror sites may be up to date at this point of time
- if you can’t find this version on some mirror, please try again later or choose another download site.)

** New features found in 6.4 include (please see release notes for more information) **

* Windows Authentication*
This release includes our new support for Windows …